On These High Holy Days, Rabbis Must Restore Jews’ Faith in Israel

One Erev Yom Kippur a few years ago, I introduced a sermon by saying, “I am going to give a nonpolitical sermon tonight. I am going to talk about why we must support Israel.”  

To many, that statement may seem paradoxical. But just as rabbis, regardless of affiliation, are advocates for living a Jewish life, so too should we be advocates for the Jewish people, especially for the nation-state of the Jewish people. And this has never been more important than today.

We are living through one of the most challenging times in recent history. The past 23 months have felt as if we are on a roller coaster — mourning the death of innocent Israelis, praying for the hostages, rejoicing when any of them have been freed, celebrating the extraordinary Israeli military successes as it fought a conflict on multiple fronts, and so much more. 

Compounding all of this is the explosion of anti-Jewish hate which is fueled by the inexplicable fact that Hamas is winning the PR war and the media’s overwhelming acceptance of their depiction of events. But just because the media presents a distorted one-sided narrative and Hamas is not held responsible for the suffering in Gaza or the war crimes they commit every day they are holding captives, does not mean that our opinions and those of our congregants should be formed only by what we read and hear in the press. 

We must not allow Israel’s enemies to define our relationship with Israel. 

Rabbis need to remind everyone, including those in our community, why Israel is fighting this war and of the reality that Israel faces. Rabbis have an obligation to dispel the lies, misimpressions, distortions and misrepresentations about Israel. People may forget that she is fighting an implacable enemy who hide behind civilians in hospitals, mosques and schools in a vast network of tunnels, and who do not care about the loss of innocent lives on either side. 

The High Holy Days represent an opportunity to challenge the prevailing narrative and educate our congregants, to restore faith in the Jewish people and Israel.  If we do not counter the lies and propaganda against the Jewish people from the pulpit, we risk it becoming internalized, leading Jews to believe the horrible things said about Israel and their fellow Jews, which ultimately leads to a distancing from the Jewish people, a weakening of Jewish identity, Jewish pride and Jewish sense of belonging. 

If we do not counter the lies and propaganda against the Jewish people from the pulpit, we risk it becoming internalized, leading Jews to believe the horrible things said about Israel and their fellow Jews, which ultimately leads to a distancing from the Jewish people, a weakening of Jewish identity and Jewish pride and Jewish sense of belonging.

As Israeli Arab commentator Yoseph Haddad recently explained, to survive in the Middle East, Israel has to speak Arabic – meaning be tough, and not perceived as soft. Its actions may make Jews in the United States cringe at times, but it is doing what it needs to do to survive as the only democracy in the Middle East for more than 75 years. 

We should approach the topic of Israel with a sense of humility. We in the United States cannot imagine the daily events that occur that we never hear about — the car rammings, the stabbings, the constant red alerts — and the impact they have on the psyche and trauma of the people of Israel. We aren’t awakened in the middle of the night to run to a safe room, or carry our babies to a protected area. The role of rabbis is to help our communities understand the multiple challenges that Israel faces and to ensure that she is not fighting the battle against Islamic extremists who seek her destruction alone.

To those rabbis who think Israel needs to hear their critique, I say Israel does not lack for critics. Their perspective will not impact decisionmakers in Israel. It will, however, impact the hearts and minds of those who hear their words — their congregants. And while many share their critiques out of love, I fear that nuance will be lost to many in the Jews in the pews, who will come away thinking that their rabbi does not support Israel, and therefore, neither should they. 

Is Israel perfect? Absolutely not. No person is, nor is any country. We do not love Israel because she is perfect, nor do we need Israel to be perfect for us to love her. We are family, and when your family is hurting, when it is isolated and alone, it is your obligation to offer comfort and support, not public condemnation, neither from the pulpit nor from unsolicited open letters.

The midrash tells us that Abraham, the very first Jew, was called HaIvri, the Hebrew, because he was courageous enough to stand on one side while everyone else in the world was on the other side. We are like Abraham. We are on one side, with a few outspoken courageous allies, while the rest of the world is on the other. And we should also be like Moses, passionate defenders of our people.  

So, on these High Holy Days, rabbis have an important role to play. We must rise to the challenge and fight the global efforts to delegitimize and demonize Israel and the Jewish people. We must fortify our communities with truth, so they do not doubt Israel or the justness of the battle it is waging. 

This is a time to ask — will we stand with our family or with its detractors. This is a time when we can and must restore faith in our people. 

Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt is the Chair of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition: The Voice of Zionist Rabbis, a network of over 2,000 rabbis committed to fostering love and dedication to Zionism and Israel.